Electromechanical tactile cell assembly

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses an electromechanical tactile cell assembly comprising a plurality of piezoelectric element reeds, each one of the piezoelectric element reeds being bendable at an elongated end portion when a voltage is applied to the reed, a plurality of conductive fulcrum pins secured to a printed circuit board, and a plurality of multiple element conductive supports secured to a printed circuit board, each multiple element conductive support, in combination with the plurality of conductive fulcrum pins, adapted to secure a plurality of piezoelectric reeds, corresponding to the plurality of conductive fulcrum pins, to the printed circuit board. The electromechanical tactile cell is adaptable for use with a Braille display.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No.60/481,979 filed, Jan. 30, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

A Braille display is an electromechanical device that connects to acomputer by way of a serial or parallel cable. The display consists of aline of electromechanical tactile cells, each with six or eight pinsthat move up and down to represent the dots of a Braille cell. Thedisplay is used to represent a line of text on a computer screen. Eachcell has six or eight tactile pins that are driven by electromechanicalor piezoelectric effects. The user of the display is able to read a lineof Braille cells by touching the pins of each cell as they are extendedabove a tactile surface. After a line has been read the user can refreshthe display to allow for additional lines to be presented and read.Braille displays are often combined with other hardware and software tomake up an integrated unit. For instance Braille displays are connectedto video monitors to serve as the display unit, and many unitsincorporate speech output of the screen prompts.

Electromechanical tactile cells for use in refreshable Braille displaysand graphical tactile displays are known in the art. An exemplarytactile cell as known in the art consists of eight piezoelectric reedelements corresponding to eight tactile pins. The necessary electricalconnections and driving forces are provided to actuate the reeds,thereby causing the tactile pins to protrude above a tactile surface toallow the Braille character or graphic element to be displayed. TheBraille cells known in the art have not been designed formanufacturability and ease of repair and replacement.

The present state of the art employs serial polled piezoelectric bimorphreeds to drive the tactile pins. The bimorph reeds have a common centerconductor positioned between two piezoelectric transducers. Seriespolled bimorph reeds are used as actuators, wherein the top and bottomelements are polled towards the center element upon initialmanufacturing. With this configuration, the common center point isgrounded and voltage is applied to the outer strips. A simple circuitdrives the center conductor and fixes the outer conductor. This seriespolled arrangement drives only one piezo element and the opposingelement performs as a mechanical drag. This arrangement additionallyrequires that special metallic plating be applied to the outerpiezoceramic contacts to enable soldering of the leads to the printedcircuit board. The need for such special metallic plating and individualattachment of the leads increases the manufacturing costs associatedwith each Braille cell. Current technology requires the use of sixteenhand-soldered leads, requiring thirty two hand-soldered solder joints toestablish the electrical connections for each Braille cell in thedisplay. Precise positioning of the reeds is necessary to ensure thatthe tactile pins extend a definite distance beyond the tactile surfaceupon actuation of the reed and fully retract below the surface uponrequest. This precise positioning and alignment of the reeds with theupward trajectory of the tactile pins proves to be very difficult withhand-soldering manufacturing techniques. Additionally, replacement ofthe reeds for repair of the Braille cell is complicated due to the largenumber of hand-soldered leads employed in the design.

Prior art Braille cells employ one individual tactile pin cap perindividual Braille cell. The tactile pin cap serves to position andalign the pins, and provides the cursor control buttons. The Braillecells and associated tactile pins caps positioned adjacent to each otherestablish the tactile surface. The use of individual cell caps for eachBraille cell increases the manufacturing cost and the cost of materials.Additional stabilizers are necessary to position and align theindividual cell caps. Strict tolerances are required to provide anacceptable tactile feel for the reader. The reader is sensitive to theseparation that is inherent between each cell with this design. Thisunevenness between each cell plagues all Braille displays known in theprior art. To tactile users, the tactility of the grooves andcell-to-cell unevenness is comparative to the noise or flicker on acomputer monitor experienced by a visual user. Additionally, maintenanceand replacement of the individual tactile pins is often necessary.Contaminants that build up on the pins must be removed or the pins mustbe replaced upon excessive wear.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improvedelectromechanical tactile cell for use in a refreshable Braille display.Improvements in manufacturability and repair are necessary in additionto enhancements in the tactile experience of the user. There is a needfor an improved means for securing the piezoelectric reeds to theprinted circuit board and establishing the necessary electricalconnections. There is additionally a need for an improved alignmentprocedure for the individual cells that enhances the user interface andallows for easy maintenance of the tactile pins.

However, in view of the prior art considered as a whole at the time thepresent invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinaryskill in this field that the identified improvements should be made norwould it have been obvious as to how to make the improvements if theneed for such improvements had been perceived.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The longstanding but heretofore unfulfilled need for an improvedelectromechanical tactile cell is now met by a new, useful, andnon-obvious invention. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly inaccordance with the present invention provides manufacturing costreductions, improvements in reliability, and enhancements in the tactileexperience for users. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly inaccordance with the present invention is useful as an actuator for arefreshable Braille display, a graphic tactile display, or any of avariety of devices in which piezoelectric element reeds are utilized asactuators.

An electromechanical tactile cell assembly in accordance with thepresent invention, includes a plurality of piezoelectric element reeds,each one of the piezoelectric element reeds being bendable at anelongated end portion when a voltage is applied to the reed, a pluralityof conductive fulcrum pins secured to a printed circuit board, and aplurality of multiple element conductive supports secured to a printedcircuit board, each multiple element conductive support, in combinationwith the plurality of conductive fulcrum pins, adapted to secure aplurality of piezoelectric reeds, corresponding to the plurality ofconductive fulcrum pins, to the printed circuit board.

The piezoelectric element reed may be characterized as a bimorph, andmore particularly may be a parallel polled bimorph. In a particularembodiment, the piezoelectric element reed is a parallel polled bimorphhaving a top piezoelectric plate, a bottom piezoelectric plate, and aconductive strip positioned between the top plate and the bottom plateand insulated therefrom, the conductive strip extending beyond the topplate and the bottom plate at a first end of the reed. Utilizing theparallel polled bimorph, the piezoelectric element reed is conductivelysecured to the printed circuit board at a first end of the reed.Additionally, a series polled bimorph is within the scope of the presentinvention.

According to a particular embodiment, the piezoelectric element reedsare of substantially equal length, and are secured to the printedcircuit board in a stepped pattern in a common bending plane.

The plurality of multiple element conductive supports secured to theprinted circuit board further include a conductive base, and a pluralityof conductive flexion members integral to the conductive base. A varietyof designs of the multiple element conductive support are effective inmeeting the requirements of providing support and an electricalconnection to one side of the bimorph reed. In a preferred embodiment,the plurality of conductive flexion members further comprises an armincluding a substantially convex portion, the convex portion beingbiased in a direction to contact the piezoelectric element reed. Theflexion members may be positioned in a stepped pattern relative to theconductive base. Accordingly, the piezoelectric element reeds arepositioned between the flexion member and the conductive fulcrum pin tosecure them to the printed circuit board and provide the requiredelectrical connections. With this embodiment, the flexion member is incontact with a first electrical contact surface coincident with the topplate and the conductive fulcrum pin is in contact with a secondelectrical contact surface coincident with the bottom plate of thebimorph. Alternatively, the flexion member may contact the bottom plateand the conductive fulcrum pin may contact the top plate of the bimorph.

In a particular embodiment of the electromechanical tactile cellassembly in accordance with the present invention for use in a Brailledisplay, the plurality of conductive fulcrum pins includes a firstplurality of fulcrum pins secured to a first side of the printed circuitboard and a second plurality of fulcrum pins secured to a second side ofthe printed circuit board, and the plurality of multiple elementconductive supports includes a first plurality of multiple elementconductive supports secured to the first side of the printed circuitboard and a second plurality of multiple element conductive supportssecured to the second side of the printed circuit board. With thisdesign, six or eight tactile pins of a Braille display can be actuatedutilizing both sides of the printed circuit board to present Brailletext to a user.

According to another embodiment, an electromechanical tactile cellassembly is provided including a plurality of piezoelectric elements, aplurality of multiple element conductive supports conductively securingthe plurality of piezoelectric elements to a printed circuit board, anda plurality of pin elements secured to the printed circuit board. Eachof the plurality of pin elements is slightly offset from a correspondingone of the plurality of multiple element conductive supports therebycreating a fulcrum. Each of the plurality of pin elements, incombination with the corresponding one of the plurality of multipleelement conductive supports is adapted to conductively secure theplurality of piezoelectric elements to the printed circuit board. In aspecific embodiment, the pin is offset from the conductive support byabout 0.2 mm, thereby creating a fulcrum force to bias the bimorphtowards the conductive support.

In an additional embodiment, the electromechanical tactile cell includesa removable piezoelectric element negative stop assembly. In anelectromechanical tactile cell assembly used to actuate a plurality oftactile pins, a positive stop exists to limit the extension of the pinabove the tactile surface. The positive stop is provided by a ridge onthe tactile pin positioned at a specific location that abuts against theunderside of the tactile surface to limit the extension above the plane.Additionally, a negative stop is need when a driving voltage is appliedto the element reed to retract the pin. This negative stop also servesto reduce the noise and vibration associated with the movement of thereeds. In accordance with the present invention, the negative stop isprovided by a removable, nonconductive stop. The removable negative stopassembly further comprises a plurality of negative stop elementscorresponding to each of a plurality of piezoelectric elements, theplurality of negative stop elements integral with the removable negativestop assembly. The negative stop assembly is fabricated of an insulativematerial and positioned proximate to the elongated end portion of theplurality of piezoelectric element reeds. The negative stop assembly ischaracterized as having a thin cylindrical portion, followed by a discshaped portion, followed by another cylindrical portion and anadditional disc shaped portion, and continuing to provide a disc shapeportion positioned between each of the piezoelectric element reeds. Thenegative stop assembly is removable, thereby eliminating the additionalmanufacturing cost of molding the downward stop into a plastic assembly.The downward stop is additionally effective in controlling thepiezoelectric element reeds not to be displaced by impact or the like tosuch an extent that the piezoelectric element reeds are broken by theirown displacement.

When employed in a refreshable Braille display, the electromechanicaltactile cell assemblies are mounted in a frame. In a particularembodiment, twenty Braille cells are mounted in a hollow framestructure. Each Braille cell includes eight bimorph reeds, such thateach Braille cell is effective in presenting a Braille letter to theuser. The Braille cell further includes a bus connector adapted tosecure the Braille cell assembly to the frame and provide electricalconnectivity. In a particular embodiment, a serial to parallel converterin circuit communication with the bus connector in included to receiveserial input data from the bus connector for actuation of the pluralityof piezoelectric element reeds.

To provide the tactile presentation of the Braille letters to the user,a plurality of tactile pins, each of the plurality of tactile pinscorresponding to each of the plurality of piezoelectric elements reedsare provided. The tactile pins are vertically movable, in response to abending movement of a corresponding one of the plurality ofpiezoelectric element reeds. With this embodiment, the tactile pins arenot required as part of the Braille cell assembly. While prior artmethods may be used wherein an individual tactile pin cap is providedfor each Braille cell, the present invention provides a solution wherebythe tactile pins corresponding to a plurality of Braille cell assembliesmay be contained in one large tactile pin cap for the entire display. Itis within the scope of the invention to provide any number ofelectromechanical tactile cell assemblies employed in a Braille displayor graphic tactile display.

As such, the present invention provides improvements inmanufacturability and maintenance of electromechanical tactile cellassemblies. The use of a novel multiple element conductive support and aconductive fulcrum pin eliminates the need for lead wires andhand-solder joints, thereby improving both manufacturability andreliability of the device. Tactile pin maintenance and bimorph reedreplacement are greatly simplified with the present invention.Additionally, the present invention enables the use of a tactile pin capfor multiple Braille cell assemblies, thereby eliminating the separationbetween each cell that is detectable by a user and consideredundesirable. The user is presented with a smooth tactile surfacepresenting protuberants only for the tactile pins and the cursorpositioning buttons as desired. The tactile cell assemblies incombination with the bused frame and the novel tactile pin cap formultiple cells enables self-alignment of the cells, thereby eliminatingthe additional alignment and securing requirements of the prior art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made tothe following detailed description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a first side of the novelelectromechanical tactile cell in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a second side of the novelelectromechanical tactile cell in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of the multiple element conductivesupport and conductive fulcrum pin in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view depicting the interconnection between anelectromechanical tactile cell in accordance with the present inventionand a frame.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the refreshable Braille display.

FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the removable downward stop for usewith the electromechanical tactile cell.

FIG. 5B is a side view of the removable downward stop for use with theelectromechanical tactile cell.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B there are shown perspective views ofopposite sides of an electromechanical tactile cell 40 incorporatingfeatures of the present invention. While alternations are possible tothe number and placement of bimorph reeds 20 without departing from theinvention, FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an embodiment in which eight reeds20 are conductively secured to a printed circuit board 36, four on eachside. The reeds are held in place using a multiple element conductivesupport 32 in combination with a conductive fulcrum pin 34. In additionto securing the piezoelectric reed to the printed circuit board, thesesupport elements also provide electrical contact and assist with properalignment of the reeds. To reduce manufacturing costs, the multipleelement conductive support 32 and the conductive fulcrum pin 34 areadapted for surface mount technology to be placed on the printed circuitusing automated placement equipment. The piezoelectric reeds are theninserted between the support and the pin either individually or with theassistance of an alignment jig. The use of a fulcrum pin 34 providesimprovements in positioning for calibration of the assembly. In thisembodiment, the support 32 and the fulcrum pins 34 are positioned suchthat the placement of the reeds 20 results in a stairstep pattern. Theconductive extension of the bimorph reed 26 are then soldered to a padon printed circuit board completing the necessary electrical connectionsto operate the piezoelectric reed as an actuator. To assist in alignmentof the reeds, an alignment fixture can be used to accurately control theposition of the work end of the bimorph.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the piezoelectric reed 20 isa parallel polled bimorph. As such, the element includes is a parallelpolled bimorph having a top piezoelectric plate, a bottom piezoelectricplate, and a conductive strip positioned between the top plate 10 andthe bottom plate 15 and insulated therefrom, the conductive strip 26extending beyond the top plate 10 and the bottom plate 15 at a first endof the reed 26. It is known that parallel polled bimorphs providegreater deflection with less power and improved efficiency. The reedsutilized herein are electrically polarized for parallel operation at thetime of manufacturing by the application of a high voltage theconductive layers. In an exemplary embodiment, a source of relativelyhigh voltage, as of +200V is applied to the multiple element conductivesupport 32, which is connected to the top plate 10 of the bimorph thebottom plate 15 is connected to ground, through the conductive fulcrumpin 34. The voltage level at the central conductor 26 is then switchedbetween the high positive ground potential and the ground potential,which places the full 200V across the lower piezoelectric layer, oracross the upper piezoelectric layer, as determined by the state of thecentral conductor. When the positive potential is presented across theupper piezoelectric plate, the reed is deflected upward and converselywhen the positive potential is applied across the lower piezoelectriclayer the reed is deflected downward. In the case of a Braille orgraphic tactile display the deflection of the reed moves a correspondingtactile pin up or down to provide the pattern of a Braille character toa user. With the bimorph operated in this manner, the operating voltagesare applied in the direction in which the layers were permanentlypolarized. Accordingly, depolarization of the reeds with continued usagedoes not occur.

As depicted in the detail of FIG. 2, the plurality of multiple elementconductive supports 32 secured to the printed circuit board 36 furtherinclude a conductive base 37, and a plurality of conductive flexionmembers 33 integral to the conductive base 37. A variety of designs ofthe multiple element conductive support are effective in meeting therequirements of providing support and an electrical connection to oneside of the bimorph reed. In a preferred embodiment, the plurality ofconductive flexion members 33 further comprises an arm including asubstantially convex portion, the convex portion being biased in adirection to contact the piezoelectric element reed. The flexion members33 may be positioned in a stepped pattern relative to the conductivebase 37. Accordingly, the piezoelectric element reeds 20 are positionedbetween the flexion member 33 and the conductive fulcrum pin 34 tosecure them to the printed circuit board 36 and provide the requiredelectrical connections. With this embodiment, the flexion member 33 isin contact with a first electrical contact surface coincident with thetop plate and the conductive fulcrum pin is in contact with a secondelectrical contact surface coincident with the bottom plate of thebimorph. Alternatively, the flexion member may contact the bottom plateand the conductive fulcrum pin may contact the top plate of the bimorph.The distance between the convex portion of the flexion member 33 and thefulcrum pin 34 is slightly less than the thickness of a bimorph reed 20.Each flexion member 33 is formed of an electrically conductive flexibleand resilient material so that a bimorph reed 20 disposed in sandwichedrelation there between is firmly engaged thereby.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the electromechanical tactile cell 40 inaccordance with the present invention is illustrated as positioned in aframe or housing 44. A plurality of receiving sockets 42 are positionedon the frame 44 in spaced relation to one another as depicted. With thisconfiguration, a large number of tactile cells 40 can be mounted withinthe frame 44. A connector positioned on each of the tactile cellssecures the tactile cell 40 to the frame 44 at the receiving socket 42.A serial to parallel integrated circuit may be used to receive the inputfrom the computer and provide the output to the piezoelectric elementsas required.

As shown in FIG. 4, the electromechanical tactile cells 40, employed asBraille cells, of the present invention are shown as assembled in arefreshable Braille display 100. As shown, the cells are positionedwithin the frame and held in place utilizing receiving connectors 42.Refreshable Braille displays often include a router button that allowscontrol over the position of the text cursor. Pressing the router buttonof a particular cell will move the cursor over that particular letter ofthe text. The receiving connectors 42 provide electrical communicationbetween the Braille cells 40 and the cursor routing buttons 102 througha backplane. Prior art devices require that lead wires be run from thebutton switches to the printed circuit board of the Braille cell toprovide operation of the cursor controls.

The Braille cell of the present invention does not include an individualtactile pin cap for each cell. As shown in FIG. 4, a monolithic cell cap90 is provided to replace the individual tactile pin caps. The cell cap90 provides a smooth tactile surface for the user, eliminating thespaces between adjacent individual tactile pin caps. The use of amonolithic cell cap also eliminates that need for alignment hardware andfixing plates associated with the individual tactile pin caps. The cellcap provides for self-alignment of the Braille cells.

As shown with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, in an additional embodiment,the electromechanical tactile cell includes a removable downward stop110. In accordance with the present invention, the negative stop isprovided by a removable, nonconductive stop. The removable negative stopassembly further comprises a plurality of negative stop elementscorresponding to each of a plurality of piezoelectric elements, theplurality of negative stop elements integral with the removable negativestop assembly 110. The negative stop assembly is fabricated of aninsulative material and positioned proximate to the elongated endportion of the plurality of piezoelectric element reeds as shown in FIG.5B. As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the negative stop assembly ischaracterized as having a thin cylindrical portion 115, followed by adisc shaped portion 120, followed by another cylindrical portion 115 andan additional disc shaped portion 120, and continuing to provide a discshape portion positioned between each of the piezoelectric elementreeds. The negative stop assembly is removable, thereby eliminating theadditional manufacturing cost of molding the downward stop into aplastic assembly. The downward stop is additionally effective incontrolling the piezoelectric element reeds not to be displaced byimpact or the like to such an extent that the piezoelectric elementreeds are broken by their own displacement.

It will be seen that the advantages set forth above, and those madeapparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained andsince certain changes may be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatters contained in the foregoing description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. Now that theinvention has been described,

1. An electromechanical tactile cell assembly comprising: a plurality ofpiezoelectric element reeds, each one of the piezoelectric element reedsbeing bendable at an elongated end portion when a voltage is applied tothe reed; a plurality of conductive fulcrum pins secured to a printedcircuit board; and a plurality of multiple element conductive supportssecured to a printed circuit board, each multiple element conductivesupport, in combination with the plurality of conductive fulcrum pins,adapted to secure a plurality of piezoelectric reeds, corresponding tothe plurality of conductive fulcrum pins, to the printed circuit board.2. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 1, wherein thepiezoelectric element reed is a bimorph.
 3. The electromechanicaltactile cell assembly of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element reedis a parallel polled bimorph.
 4. The electromechanical tactile cellassembly of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element reed is a seriespolled bimorph.
 5. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim1, wherein the piezoelectric element reed further comprises a toppiezoelectric plate, a bottom piezoelectric plate, and a conductivestrip positioned between the top plate and the bottom plate andinsulated therefrom, the conductive strip extending beyond the top plateand the bottom plate at a first end of the reed.
 6. Theelectromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 5, wherein thepiezoelectric element reed is conductively secured to the printedcircuit board at a first end of the reed.
 7. The electromechanicaltactile cell assembly of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric elementreeds are of substantially equal length, and wherein the piezoelectricelement reeds are secured to the printed circuit board in a steppedpattern in a common bending plane.
 8. The electromechanical tactile cellassembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality of multiple elementconductive supports further comprises: a conductive base; and aplurality of conductive flexion members integral to the conductive base.9. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 8, wherein theplurality of conductive flexion members further comprises an armincluding a substantially convex portion, the convex portion biased in adirection to contact the piezoelectric element reed.
 10. Theelectromechanical tactile assembly of claim 8, wherein the plurality ofconductive flexion members are arranged in a stepped pattern relative tothe conductive base.
 11. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly ofclaim 5, further comprising a first electrical contact surfacecoincident with the top plate and a second electrical contact surfacecoincident with the bottom plate.
 12. The electromechanical tactile cellassembly of claim 11, wherein each multiple element conductive supportis in contact with the first electrical contact surface and each of theplurality of conductive fulcrum pins is in contact with the secondelectrical contact surface, such that the piezoelectric reed is securedto the printed circuit board.
 13. The electromechanical tactile cellassembly of claim 11, wherein each multiple element conductive supportis in contact with the second electrical contact surface and each of theplurality of conductive fulcrum pins is in contact with the firstelectrical contact surface, such that the piezoelectric reed is securedto the printed circuit board.
 14. The electromechanical tactile cellassembly of claim 1, further comprising: the plurality of conductivefulcrum pins includes a first plurality of fulcrum pins secured to afirst side of the printed circuit board and a second plurality offulcrum pins secured to a second side of the printed circuit board; andthe plurality of multiple element conductive supports includes a firstplurality of multiple element conductive supports secured to the firstside of the printed circuit board and a second plurality of multipleelement conductive supports secured to the second side of the printedcircuit board.
 15. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim1, further comprising a removable piezoelectric element negative stopassembly.
 16. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 15,wherein the removable negative stop assembly further comprises aplurality of negative stop elements corresponding to each of a pluralityof piezoelectric elements, the plurality of negative stop elementsintegral with the removable negative stop assembly.
 17. Theelectromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 15, wherein the removalpiezoelectric element negative stop is fabricated of an insulativematerial.
 18. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 15,wherein the removable piezoelectric element negative stop is positionedproximate to the elongated end portion of the plurality of piezoelectricelement reeds.
 19. The electromechanical tactile assembly of claim 16,wherein the removable negative stop assembly further comprises a firstthin cylindrical portion and first disc portion, a second cylindricalportion and a second disc portion, a third cylindrical portion and athird disc portion and a fourth cylindrical portion, such that the discportions are positionable between the piezoelectric element reeds. 20.The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising: a bus connector adapted to secure the Braille cell assemblyto a frame; and a serial to parallel converter in circuit communicationwith the bus connector, to receive serial input data from the busconnector for actuation of the plurality of piezoelectric element reeds.21. The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising: a plurality of tactile pins, each of the plurality oftactile pins corresponding to each of the plurality of piezoelectricelements reeds; and a respective one of the plurality of tactile pinsbeing vertically movable, in response to a bending movement of acorresponding one of the plurality of piezoelectric element reeds. 22.The electromechanical tactile cell assembly of claim 21, wherein themovement of the plurality of tactile pins provides a tactile Brailledisplay.
 23. An electromechanical tactile cell assembly comprising: aplurality of piezoelectric elements; a plurality of multiple elementconductive supports conductively securing said plurality ofpiezoelectric elements to a printed circuit board; and a plurality ofpin elements secured to the printed circuit board, each of saidplurality of pin elements slightly offset from a corresponding one ofsaid plurality of multiple element conductive supports thereby creatinga fulcrum, each of said plurality of pin elements, in combination withthe corresponding one of said plurality of multiple element conductivesupports adapted to conductively secure said plurality of piezoelectricelements to the printed circuit board.
 24. The electromechanical tactilecell assembly of claim 23, wherein the offset is about 0.22 mm.